i've got scarf making down to an almost science. tonight i went to a fancy wool store. i'm not wool snob like some people, i buy what's pretty or what feels nice. this place was mainly for pro knitters, but they had some crochet stuff too. lord, some people pay $40 for knitting needles, give me a break! Some of the yarns were so high end, that I almost peed myself when I saw how much the chasmere yarn I was in love with cost for a skeen. I could buy groceries for a week for how much this yarn for a scarf would cost. Therefore, I put it back before I broke it and had to buy it.
In the end, I bought some lovely mid-priced lamb yarn in pale purple, medium purple, pale peach, medium rose, and chocolate brown. I think these will combine well in a mixed-matched sort of way. I also bought myself a wooden shawl brooch. It's a wooden diamond shape with a diamond shape cut out the center and a wooden pin to go with it. You push your knitted or chroched shawl through the hollow in the diamond and stab the pin through it to hold your shawl or scarf closed. It was just what my scarf needed.
I also found and loved a series of yarns made in India by women learning yarnmaking as a trade to survive because they left abusive spouses. These women also recycle old saris by cuting up the silk and either spinning it into yarn, weaving it into new abstract fabrics, or just selling the shredded cloth to those who make their own yarn or weave it. I think I will buy a hank of this next time i go and make something for myself, maybe a capelette.
Many of the things in the store were organic, fair trade, and supported projects for cancer patients, war orphans and women fleeing abusice relationships all over the world, so some of the high prices were somewhat justified. Not everything int he store was expensive though, some of it was $4.00 a skeen. They had a lot of funky random lacy yarn and sprakley stuff too. The owner offers classes and encourages customers to come in and knit or corchet in her comfy chairs. She participates in the pink scarf project (it's where local breast cancer patients are given hand made knitted goods and hats in the name of her mother, who lost her fight) and the red scarf project, for orphans in college. patrons are asked to make wool hats, scarves and other items to donate to local people in need.
With all of that said, I'm 2 scarves away from my christmas list being done (woohoo!) and if you'd like a scarf, send me the yarn and tell me what you want and i'll make it and send it back.
Jilly
2 comments:
"organic, fair trade"
I hope this is more than buzz words because I see it in the grocery store all the time--mostly on coffee and tea. When given a choice, I'll buy fair trade stuff.
Jilly, give me your address. also, how much yarn does it take for a scarf? not being a knitter, I haven't a clue
nope emma, i looked the companies up on the internet when i got home to see if i could just buy the stuff without the middleman.
emma, it really depends on how many colors you want and what type you want. i can get between 3-6 scarves out of two 7 oz skeens of yarn with a j or i hook (small).
yarn usually comes in large quantities unless you buy the expensive stuff. my daughter's large creme blanket took me 1.25 pounds of yarn.
right now i'm doing striped scarves with a tassle fringe at the end. i did a thick stripe of rose, a small stripe of chocolate then a medium strips of peach, then the brown then rose again. i will do this same scarf but replace the rose and peach with medium and light purple. if i stick to these two patterns, i could probably get 6 scarves.
Post a Comment